Touch
by Rosie2009
Summary: Anna desperately wants her relationship with her sister to return to its former glory of thirteen years ago and is ready for hugs and any kind of contact she can get. Elsa feels a bit awkward due to the fact it has been so long since she had any physical contact with anyone. Will Anna be able to get what she wants from her sister? Sisterly fluff.


"Doo, de, doo, de, doo," Elsa heard Anna singing a song as she skipped down the halls. Elsa furrowed her brow as she listened to Anna hesitate just as she arrived at her door. After a few beats, she knocked her signature knock.

"Come in," Elsa said, raising her voice a bit so Anna could hear her. The door squeaked open a bit. Anna peeked through and waved a bit.

"Hi, Elsa," Anna shyly responded looking in carefully.

"What are you waiting for? Christmas? Come in," Elsa giggled a bit, trying to convince her sister to enter. Anna opened the door a little more and slipped inside. Elsa stood up from her desk and sat down on the sofa close by, patting the spot beside her.

Anna walked over quickly and gently sat down.

"So, what is it? Is something wrong?" Elsa asked, resting her hands in her lap.

"Oh, no, nothing's wrong," Anna asserted a bit unconvincingly. Elsa raised a brow inspecting her sister's face.

"You know you can tell me and talk to me about anything, right?" Elsa asked, unfamiliar with how to comfort her sister. It was their first day back together and Elsa was just starting to get back into the habit of being a big sister. So far she had done well- at least she hoped- but when it came to awkward situations like these, she was at a complete loss.

"Yeah, I do," Anna said, and Elsa could see that she forced a smile onto her face. Unfortunately, although Elsa knew something was wrong with Anna, she didn't have the courage to ask.

"Okay… Um," Elsa trailed off, not really knowing what to say.

"I guess I'll be going. See you later, Elsa," Anna said, looking down at the ground as she walked out of the room.

"Anna, wait, please," Elsa said, finally taking action. She heard Anna's footsteps resounding farther and farther away. Elsa sighed, taking on a concerned expression. She finally had her sister back and she couldn't even talk to her correctly. Elsa pinched the bridge of her nose, finally deciding to continue some paperwork since she believed that Anna would probably be back eventually.

…

Elsa walked through the castle halls to fetch some lunch, somewhat drained from the nonstop stack of papers she had been sifting through. As she elegantly made her way towards the staircase, she heard footsteps behind her. She furrowed her brow and turned her head to look behind her, stopping in her tracks.

She didn't see anything but a large houseplant sitting by a door and a large stretch of hallway that she had already covered.

Elsa pursed her lips a bit, continuing her stride. She soon heard footsteps once again. Elsa continued to walk with the knowledge that someone was behind her.

Suddenly, before the mystery person could hide, Elsa spun around quickly, intending to catch the culprit.

"Anna?" Elsa asked, somewhat surprised. Anna folded her hands behind her back, looking up at Elsa sheepishly.

"Yeah, me again!" Anna laughed nervously, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Have you been… following me?" Elsa tentatively questioned.

"No way! What'd give you that idea?"

"Okay. I just wondered-"

"Nah, I was just takin' a stroll. Y'know, down the hallway. Justa chillin'," Anna grinned, feigning confidence as she attempted to lean against the wall casually. Unfortunately, she misjudged the distance between her elbow and the wall and ended up crashing her face into it.

"OW!" Anna yelped as she regained her footing and checked her nose carefully. Elsa's eyes widened and she immediately rushed over to tend to her sister.

"Let me see, let me see," Elsa gently commanded. Anna shook her head, tears welling up in her eyes.

"Move your hands, Sunshine," Elsa said. Anna froze and stared into Elsa's icy blue eyes. Elsa, not quite realizing what she had said, moved her sister's hands from her face unashamedly. She inspected Anna's nose carefully.

"I think you're okay. You're not bleeding, which is good," Elsa mentioned with a small smile, resting her hands on her sister's face. She looked back into Anna's normally sparky teal eyes and her smile immediately evaporated. Anna was staring at her with a completely shocked expression and a blank stare, bewildering Elsa greatly. Elsa mentally retraced her steps, trying desperately to figure out what she had done to make her baby sister so flabbergasted. Suddenly, it came back to her in a blur- "Sunshine."

Elsa withdrew her hands from Anna's face as if she had been burned, a bright cherry blush covering her cheeks.

"Okay. I think you're fine now," Elsa said somewhat anxiously as she averted her gaze to the ground, quickly clasping her hands in front of her.

"Yeah, uh, thanks," Anna mentioned, seemingly broken from the spell that had previously captivated her.

"I was, um, just getting some lunch. Would you like to accompany me?" Elsa asked cordially, unintentionally distancing herself from her sister through her formalities.

"No thanks. I really appreciate it though!" Anna reassured Elsa motioning her arms in a placating gesture. "I had a really big breakfast. I'm still really full!" Anna giggled tensely.

"Okay. I'll be seeing you, I suppose," Elsa said with a smile, trying to hide her disappointment with Anna's declination. She had been hoping to discuss whatever had been wrong with Anna earlier.

"Okey dokey! See you!" Anna exclaimed, practically running in the other direction. Elsa furrowed her brow and watched her leave. What in the world was going on with Anna?

…

Elsa ascended the steps and reentered the hall, refreshed somewhat from the feel of food her in stomach. She scanned the entirety of it, hoping for a certain red-headed girl to be lurking.

As she ventured further into the room, she heard a voice that sounded quite similar to Anna's.

Elsa's quickly strode through the hall, hoping to come upon her sister and perhaps find out what her problem was. Upon hearing the voice grow louder, Elsa peeked around the corner of the hall to see.

"Hiya, Joan," Anna said, lounged on a seat positioned below an enormous painting of Joan of Arc. Elsa's eyes widened as she found herself privy to Anna's rather strange exchange with the painting.

"It's been a while, am I right? Well, I thought I'd give you the status report, heh," Anna chuckled humorlessly. "I've finally got my sister back, which is the most awesome thing ever!" Anna grinned widely despite her obvious distress. "But I've got a real problem. Back when we were kids, Elsa didn't have any problem holding my hand, hugging me, snuggling on the couch and reading a book with me- pretty much anything that involved contact didn't bother her. She actually kinda- I think- liked it. I know I enjoyed our time together.

"She was like she used to be the other day when she thawed everything, but today and yesterday she just talks. Trust me, that's not a bad thing in the least! It's really an improvement! I just… kinda hoped it'd be a little more like it was long ago," Anna rambled on, looking down sadly at the fancy carpet on the floor. Elsa watched her sister, a great sadness weighing on her heart.

"Joan, you really are a swell listener. I don't know what I'd do without you. I can't really talk to Kristoff about this. He wouldn't really get it. It's a sister problem. Olaf might get it better since he was like made by Elsa and maybe can kinda think like her? I dunno.

"I just wish I could talk to my sister about this. I shouldn't be worried about it, but I guess I'm just scared because my whole problem is really just dumb," Anna sighed, pursing her lips. Elsa furrowed her brow in sadness and worry. Did she really make her sister feel like that?

"Y'know, Joan, I probably just need to woman up and talk to her about it. After all, she is my sister and she'll understand. I hope… Maybe… Anywho, I'll talk to her about it tonight, maybe after dinner," Anna said, determination filling her voice and expression as she hopped to her feet. "But for now, I think I might go find some chocolate!" she said with a giggle.

"Thank you for this talk, Joan, I really needed it," Anna heartfeltly thanked the portrait. Elsa, despite her feelings of sadness and regret still recognized the weirdness of the situation and couldn't suppress raising her eyebrow and rolling her eyes.

Unfortunately, just as Anna was heading her way, it dawned on Elsa that she'd need to appear as if she had just happened to be walking this way. Elsa quickly stepped back a few paces and began to walk her graceful stride so that Anna wouldn't suspect that Elsa had been eavesdropping.

Anna came around the corner with a speed Elsa had not been expecting. Anna, not looking where she was going, crashed right into her sister. They both landed haphazardly on the ground, Anna sprawled awkwardly on top of Elsa.

"Sorry! Sorry, sorry, sorry! I did not mean to run into you!" Anna was already speedily apologizing before she even realized who she was apologizing to. As soon as Anna opened her eyes and raised herself slightly above Elsa, her eyes widened in what Elsa could only assume was pure mortification.

"Elsa!" Anna squeaked. In her haste to get off of her sister, she only found their limbs more entangled. Every time Elsa tried to move her legs out of Anna's way, Anna ended up moving hers so that she couldn't hardly remove them. After a few times of fumbling with that, Elsa decided to freeze and let Anna find her way out. After a few seconds more, Anna embarrassedly rolled off of Elsa and, avoiding eye contact as much as possible, Anna held out her hand to pull Elsa onto her feet.

Elsa, with Anna's help, rose to her feet gracefully.

"Thank you," Elsa said gratefully with a smile, trying to disguise her true feelings of sorrow and regret.

"No problem," Anna replied.

"Where were you going in such a hurry?" Elsa asked, attempting to act clueless of Anna's previous discussion with the painting.

"I thought I'd go filch some chocolate from the kitchen. Where're you going?" Anna questioned, turning the question around onto Elsa.

"I was just going to finish up a bit of work," Elsa answered, smiling kindly.

"Okay. I guess I'll see you later, then. Wouldn't want to miss out on all that paperwork!" Anna grinned widely, starting to make her way to the staircase.

"Okay. See you," Elsa muttered quietly. Anna was already too far to hear her anyway. Elsa came around the corner to view the regal painting of Joan of Arc.

She eyed her for a moment and turned to leave.

But before she left, she spared the portrait one last glance.

"She's a real mess," Elsa said, the corners of her lips quirking as she departed for her study.

…

That night, after dinner, Elsa was settled in the castle library, snuggled into a sofa by the fire and reading a book that she hadn't had her hands on in forever. It used to be her and Anna's favorite, and they'd always read it before bed. She read each and every word carefully, and gazed at each picture, relishing the memories that the old book held.

"Elsa?" Elsa looked up at the voice at the doorway. She saw Anna standing there in a green nightgown, looking at her shyly.

"Hey," Elsa said, putting the book down and smiling gladly. Anna walked in and sat down next to Elsa, hugging her knees. Elsa looked at her expectantly. Anna took a deep breath.

"I thought I'd tell you what's wrong," Anna mumbled. Elsa nodded encouragingly, placing a hand on Anna's shoulder. Anna jumped a bit, looking at the hand. Elsa immediately jerked it back quickly.

"Sorry," Elsa quickly apologized, feeling quite embarrassed, especially since her earlier slip of the tongue. She also was quite confused since Anna had expressed that she had wanted more touch. Anna shook her head.

"No, no, it's fine! Better than fine," Anna assured her, grabbing her hand. Elsa froze, staring at their hands. "That's actually part of my problem," Elsa heard Anna murmur so quietly that she could hardly hear it.

"So that's what's wrong," Elsa said, pulling her hand away from Anna and starting to feel horrible. She had totally misunderstood her sister. But how could she have? It was perfectly clear what Anna wanted. She said so herself.

"You don't want me to touch you," Elsa murmured sadly. Elsa watched in confusion as Anna's eyes widened enormously.

"No! That's not it at all. The issue I'm having is that it's," Anna mumbled the remainder of the sentence quietly. Elsa furrowed her brow and looked at Anna strangely.

"Pardon?"

"It's… cuzit'snotnuff," Anna murmured lowly.

"What?"

"Because it's not enough!" Anna almost yelled. Elsa flinched. Anna looked at her, horrified, and she laid her head on her knees to avoid her sister's penetrating gaze.

"Anna…" Elsa didn't know what to say. She sat, frozen, trying to piece together what she had just told her. Anna wanted her to touch her more? Thank goodness Elsa hadn't completely lost her mind and heard things wrong. But Anna just acted like she didn't want more contact.

"You haven't hardly hugged me or anything since you thawed Arendelle two days ago. I know it's probably ridiculous, and I really shouldn't expect so much from you all at one time. This is a big adjustment- trust me, I know- and I should be going slower and letting you get used to-" Elsa brought her baby sister into a huge hug.

"Anna, why didn't you say something to me earlier? It's not ridiculous. I have thirteen years to make up for, and I'm going to spend the rest of my life being the best sister I can be to you," Elsa choked out, trying not to cry.

"I'm sorry I didn't say anything," Anna murmured, and Elsa could hear the smile in her voice.

"Anna, I love you, and I don't want you to ever feel embarrassed to say anything to me. I'm sorry for making you feel like you can't talk to me. I shouldn't have been so unfeeling," Elsa said, feeling bad.

"I love you, too. I won't be embarrassed anymore. And don't be sorry! I'm needy, okay? It's an issue I've got. You're anything but unfeeling. You cared so much about me that you locked yourself up for thirteen years- thirteen years! And just to do what you thought was protecting me," Anna said, wrapping her arms tighter around Elsa. Elsa smiled, her heart warming.

"I know you're just shy, Elsa," Anna beamed, pulling away from Elsa so that she could touch her forehead against Elsa's. Elsa beamed back at Anna.

"Anna, you are quite possibly the most understanding and loving person I have ever met," Elsa spoke from her heart. "My sweet baby sister. You're an absolute gem," Elsa's voice wavered as she smiled gently, looking at Anna. Elsa took Anna's face in her cool hands and kissed her forehead.

"Would you like to sit here with me while I read?" Anna nodded eagerly, relaxing so that her head rested in her sister's lap.

Elsa picked her book back up and read silently, relishing each word of the old book.

After a while of silence, Elsa got to a rather interesting part of the book. With a small smile at the picture of a knight in shining armor, Elsa spoke up.

"So, how long have you and Joan been friends?" Elsa glanced down at Anna and bit back the large grin threatening to split her face at Anna's bumfuzzled expression.

"Wait. What?!"


End file.
